Federal MPS welcome new CSG laws

Federal politicians on the state's north coast are welcoming an extension of Commonwealth powers over coal seam gas projects.

The Environment Minister has announced any potential impact on water will be now be included as a factor the government considers when deciding if a project should be approved.

The federal member for Page, Janelle Saffin, says the onus will be on gas companies to demonstrate that projects will not affect water resources.

"A lot of them in our neck of the woods are at either exploration stage or they're a dot on the map, and it means that they will be caught by this when the amendment goes through parliament and that should go through hopefully over the next couple of weeks," she said.

"It's a significant step in terms of providing protection for our waterways in our area.

"But we still have the situation where the licences are granted at state level, and we still need to have that exclusion zone."